What should you eat to produce breast milk? Not enough breast milk: what to do to have more

Mothers sometimes refuse to breastfeed because it seems to them that there is practically no milk in the breast. So, there is not enough milk: what to do? Should I give up or should I still try?

Remember: don't panic. The more attempts you make to breastfeed your baby, the greater the chance that milk rivers will quickly flow again. the right direction. Don't forget: even a drop of colostrum for a newborn is of great value. And in order to have more milk, the mother needs to be healthy and be sure to eat well and satisfyingly. Plus, try to get a good rest. Of course, drink more fluid. Especially plain water.

More for more breast milk, you need to loosen up quite well. It seems, where do women in poor countries get so much milk from the same natives who work hard jobs? They feed their children very well, unlike white women who do not overwork, eat better and get plenty of rest. This could all be due to a concept called the constraint factor. In a word, embarrassment in front of one’s own children. But it also affects lactation, which can stop due to stiffness in the same way as due to starvation and malnutrition.

How to increase the amount of milk in your breasts

Our children really need love. And breastfeeding a newborn baby is one of the manifestations of this tender feeling for the child. At its core, breastfeeding is a sexual activity. But it helps to increase the amount of milk in the mother. Therefore, you should not slow yourself down and, without any extraneous thoughts, give yourself entirely to your children during feeding. The realization that showing love to the baby during feeding is also sexual arousal will help the mother not be constrained.

Breastfeeding newborn babies is not always easy for mothers. It happens that women do not need to prepare to feed their baby. But suddenly mommy flat nipples, are they inside out or do they have too delicate skin? To avoid problems, even during pregnancy to the expectant mother you need to pay attention to your nipples and, if suddenly she sees the problems that we talked about, you need to prepare your nipples for breastfeeding. And in the first weeks of feeding, take care of the nipples and maintain them properly.

If even before giving birth the nipples are flat, inverted or barely protrude, then they need to be pulled out and pulled daily. And thin and delicate skin Massage raw on nipples for a few minutes a day terry towel. If you adhere to these basic rules, then after a month you will see how your nipples will become rougher.

And, for example, after childbirth, after feeding the baby, it is advisable to wash and wipe nipples with delicate skin. You can also expose your chest to the sun and air. If the nipple bleeds, then you should refrain from breastfeeding for a while. After all, this can harm the baby’s stomach.

The primary question that arises for any woman who has given birth to a child is how to provide the baby with a sufficient amount of breast milk? But what if there is very little of it? My answer: every woman who was able to conceive a baby carries due date and give birth, maybe feed him. There are very rare cases when there is a need to actually switch to artificial nutrition, a young mother in most cases is able to fully feed her baby with breast milk.

In the first days after birth, there cannot be a lot of milk at once; its volume increases during the first days. To begin with, the baby only needs the colostrum that appears immediately after birth. In order not to panic and start supplementing breastfeeding that has not yet begun with formula, you need to remember that most doubts are unfounded.

• Tip 1: Is the milk in my breast nutritious enough?

To check whether your milk has sufficient fat content, you need to express it into a transparent container and let it stand. You can judge the fat content by seeing it with your own eyes. There is a more radical option - donate milk to laboratory test, where they will accurately determine whether the baby has enough nutrients that it contains.

• Tip 2. What if there is no milk at all?

A feeling of fullness and distension does not always accompany the appearance of milk. In order for the milk to remain, you need to put your baby to the breast as soon as required, and after feeding you can express the remainder. The principle of supply and demand works here . As long as milk is needed, it appears. As soon as there is no need for it, it quickly disappears. Medicine knows of cases where women, who had long since finished feeding their child, began to breastfeed someone else’s baby and milk appeared again. Therefore, everything that your child cannot drink must be expressed with a breast pump. If you still have doubts that the baby is full, offer him two breasts one at a time during one feeding.

• Tip 3. What should I drink or eat to increase my milk supply?

You need to eat healthy food, eat small portions, eat what is healthy. Nuts and dairy products are especially useful for producing milk. If you drink tea brewed with milk thirty minutes before feeding, milk will be added immediately.

Note to moms!

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• Tip 4. What could I be doing wrong, why is my milk not coming in?

Do not try to accustom your baby to a routine at such a tender age. You should not feed him by the hour, this leads to a decrease in lactation. In the first days of your baby's life, feed him at least once every two hours. At night, a 4-hour gap during sleep is allowed. In addition, do not limit your baby’s time for feeding. Let him stay at your breast as much as he wants. Otherwise, he may not have time to suck the portion of milk he needs. Important: for feeding, take a comfortable position, make sure that the baby grasps the nipple correctly with his mouth.

Make sure your diaper is filled! To understand that your baby is eating enough milk, pay attention to the weight of the diaper. If you don’t give your baby enough water and the diaper overflows, that is, the baby pees quite often, it means he’s not starving. I also advise you to turn to “natural medicines” with lactogenic properties: nuts, cheese, bee bread, royal jelly, infusion of nettle and ginger, as well as dill and coriander. It is important to remember: no means will help if you violate the basic rules described above.

According to statistics, only about 3% of breastfeeding women actually have problems with lactation. The majority of young mothers who complain about an insufficient volume of breast milk simply do not know how to properly organize the system of daily feeding of the child.

There are also certain crises during which the amount of milk produced decreases slightly. But these periods cannot be a problem for a nursing mother who knows what to do to stimulate lactation.

Symptoms of insufficient lactation

Very often, young mothers worry in vain and “invent” a problem for themselves. But to reassure you, you should contact a feeding specialist who will objectively assess the situation and tell you what a nursing mother should do so that there is a lot of milk in the breast.

Signs indicating shortage breast milk are:

• low weight gain of the newborn;
• During the day, the baby wets the diaper less than 6 times;
• the chest is half empty during application, and there is no feeling of hot flashes;
• The child is restless and requires the breast very often.

The presence of such symptoms indicates low lactation during breastfeeding. However, there are many reliable ways to ensure stable production of the required volume of milk.

Psychological mood and calmness

It is very important for a nursing mother to have the right mindset for breastfeeding. Very often, in order to have enough milk, you just need to avoid overwork, stress, negative emotions. The environment should be calm, and it is better for the mother to relax and completely switch to the feeding process.

Normal lactation is promoted by a certain hormone – oxytocin. Its production in a woman’s body is closely related to her emotional state. The calmer the mother is while putting the baby to the breast, the more oxytocin is released into her blood. It is necessary to ensure that the mother is comfortable during feeding and that nothing distracts her.

When breastfeeding, close contact with the baby is very important. It is better for the mother to sleep with the newborn or move his crib as close to her as possible. During the day, it is necessary to pick up the baby more often, put him to the chest, talk, and lull him to sleep.

At these moments a strong emotional connection mother and child, the level of oxytocin in the body increases, and a lot of milk is produced in the breast.

An important hormone is prolactin.

Also, a special hormone prolactin is produced in the body of a nursing mother, on which the volume of breast milk depends.

Its sufficient production is influenced by the following factors:

• the presence of regular night feedings;
• frequency of applications;
• correct nipple capture.

The modern approach to breastfeeding differs significantly from the recommendations of past years. In order for a woman to have a lot of milk, it is necessary to stop feeding the baby by the hour. The most correct is considered to be breastfeeding on demand.

The advantage of this method is that the breast produces exactly the amount of milk that the baby needs. Feeding on demand provides the mother with stable lactation and regular breast fullness.

In order for lactation crises to pass as unnoticed as possible, a nursing mother needs to adhere to simple rules.

To increase milk volume you need:

• refuse formula bottles and pacifiers;
• make sure that the baby is correctly attached to the breast with an accurate grip of the nipple and areola;
• alternately apply the baby to the right and left breast;
• drink a warm, sweet drink before feeding;
• do a circular chest massage to help relieve tension;
• monitor your diet - it should be high in calories and healthy;
• drink as much liquid as possible - tea, juices, compotes;
• do not give your baby enough to drink - breast milk not only fills you up, but also quenches your thirst;
• add lactation-stimulating foods to your diet, such as fennel, cumin, cheese, walnuts;
• maintain the correct daily routine, consistently alternating walks, sleep, feeding, and keeping the child awake;
• pump periodically.

If the baby is properly latched to the breast and fed on demand, there is no need to pump to stimulate lactation.

Active sucking – persistent lactation

To ensure there is enough milk in the breast, the baby needs to regularly and actively empty the breast. The problem of decreased lactation may appear if the baby is weak, sucks sluggishly or quickly falls asleep at the breast.

In this case, you can apply pumping method. This process can be done with your fingers or using a special breast pump. Pumping ensures the systematic production of prolactin in the body and prevents stagnation of breast milk.

Procedures to increase milk supply

During lactation crises you can do special massage breast, promoting the production of breast milk. To carry out this procedure, you need to have any natural oil on hand.

The process is carried out with light movements clockwise in the area of ​​the milk ducts. You need to massage daily for 2-4 minutes.

A good solution for a nursing mother would be a water massage while taking a shower. You should alternately direct jets of warm water onto your chest, massaging it in a circular motion.

Useful foods to increase lactation

A woman's diet while breastfeeding contains a lot of nutritious food. However, if the volume of milk decreases, it is necessary to additionally introduce products that stimulate lactation.

They are:

• dill;
• ginger and green tea;
• lettuce;
• rosehip decoction;
• carrot;
• radish;
• black currant;
• anise.

In order to have enough milk, you must adhere to special diet, do not drink alcohol and fatty foods. It is very useful for a young mother to consume dried fruit compote or make fennel decoctions.

What to do if breast milk does not increase?

If the mother cannot cope with the problem on her own, she should contact a pediatrician or an experienced specialist.

In medicine, there are many modern medications that effectively enhance lactation, for example:

• Lactavit;
• Apilak;
• Lactogone;
• Mlekoin;
• special lactation teas.

These drugs contain natural ingredients medicinal herbs, which have a positive effect on lactation. However, taking any herbal tea while breastfeeding requires prior consultation with a pediatrician and careful use.

Some herbs can cause allergies in a nursing mother, so they should be gradually introduced into the diet.

Calmness and confidence are the best helpers

Of course, the period of breastfeeding in the life of every mother is a rather difficult time. But all the problems are temporary, soon lactation will stabilize, and the mother will not need to do anything to maintain it.

The main thing is to get in the right mood, be calm, relaxed and confident in your abilities.

Process breastfeeding - this is a woman’s natural destiny, which brings her many bright and joyful moments. These are unforgettable moments of happiness, harmony, privacy with the child and an invaluable period of tender motherhood.

For a newborn to develop normally, he needs to eat well. Sometimes new mothers notice that the child is very capricious, constantly crying and very irritated. Basically, this behavior is a sign that the baby is hungry. We have to think about increasing lactation and how to increase the fat content of breast milk.

Breast milk is the most useful nutritious product for a child; development depends on it. immune system and the body. It is for this reason that it is important that it is sufficiently fatty.

Signs indicating low-fat milk:

1. After feeding, the child continues to cry and does not eat enough.
2. When expressing, the mother's milk is clear or has a blue tint.

If one of the listed signs is detected, it is necessary to conduct a kind of milk analysis, which will help determine its fat content percentage. The test can be done at home. Take a test tube and express some milk into it. Let the contents sit for 5-6 hours until cream forms on top. After this, measure with a ruler how many mm they occupy. 1 mm equals 1% fat content. Normal indicator– this is 4%.

If the analysis shows less than 4%, you need to find out how to increase the fat content of breast milk.

Proper nutrition

Women's doctors say that proper nutrition promotes better lactation and constantly maintains the desired level of milk fat content. A nursing mother needs to receive 500 kcal more than usual every day. Moreover, what you need to eat is not chocolate and other sweets, but healthy foods. Let's try to understand in more detail what a nursing mother needs to eat in order to have a lot of milk.

Products that should be in the diet of a breastfeeding mother:

1. Broths made from meats such as chicken, rabbit or beef. If you eat hot soups every day, there will be no problems with lactation, and the body will begin to better absorb other foods.
2. A nursing mother needs cereals. It can be buckwheat, rice, semolina, millet, arnautka. They are high in calories and promote better milk flow into the mammary glands.
3. If the child is breastfed, the woman must drink herbal infusions. For example, chamomile is calming and does not promote development allergic reaction in kids.
4. To ensure that there is always a lot of milk, nails and teeth remain strong and white, a nursing mother should eat cottage cheese and yoghurt. But you can’t abuse cow’s milk; you should drink no more than 2 glasses a day.
5. Seasonal vegetables and fruits. These are very important products that supply vitamins to the mother’s body, and then during feeding they are passed on to the baby.

What foods increase the fat content of milk?

What lactation depends on and what you need to eat to produce milk has already become clearer. Now it remains to figure out how to increase the fat content of breast milk if it is not enough. Multiple portioned meals enriched with vegetable fats, complex carbohydrates and proteins are recommended.

If the baby is breastfed, then it is through mother's milk that he should receive everything he needs for normal development.

Products that increase the fat content of milk:

1. Nuts and sunflower seeds.
2. Cottage cheese homemade and hard cheeses.
3. Beef meat and liver.

It is important to understand that you need to eat each of the products listed above very carefully because, for example, nuts can cause allergies in your baby. It is recommended no more than 30-40 grams of seeds and nuts per day; Beef meat and cottage cheese can be eaten in slightly larger quantities.

Drinks that support the fat content of milk

How to make breast milk fat by drinking, and is it possible? There is an opinion that liquid dilutes milk and makes it more watery. However, the excessive exaggeration of the presented arguments was proven. To have an acceptable percentile ratio, you just need to choose the right drinks.

1. When breastfeeding, new mothers need not only to eat well, but also to drink fluids in the amount of 2-2.5 liters per day. This includes water, soups and broths.
2. To ensure that the fat content of the milk is sufficient for feeding the child, doctors recommend using rosehip decoction.
3. If a woman loves coffee, then while breastfeeding her baby, she can replace it with a barley drink.
4. Drinking green tea with cream half an hour before feeding not only stimulates lactation, but also has a positive effect on maintaining the balance of fat content in breast milk.
5. If a woman wants to eat and drink so that her baby receives vitamins, you can prepare yourself compotes from seasonal fruits. The main thing is to select products that do not contribute to allergies. If you want strawberries, you can try to eat them, but for the first time - only one berry, and only if the child is 5-6 months old.
6. Natural juices from carrots and apples will be beneficial for the body of mother and child. They contain a large number of vitamins

It is not enough just to drink and eat correctly during breastfeeding. There are other factors that can reduce the fat content of milk and contribute to the cessation of lactation. Stress, lack of sleep and chronic fatigue deplete the mother’s body, and the baby also suffers from this. To avoid unpleasant consequences, follow useful tips presented below.

1. You only need to eat healthy foods at the allotted time. Compliance correct mode nutrition plays a fundamental role in the fat content of breast milk and its quantity.
2. Try to be as nervous as possible - young children strongly feel the stress of their mothers, as a result they may refuse to eat and sleep.
3. If you want to give your baby maximum care and protection, always get a good night's sleep. Chronic fatigue causes irritability and loss of strength.
4. There are many ways to make milk fattier, choose the safest one for yourself based on individual characteristics body.
5. You can't overeat. You need to eat often, but in small portions. This will help to avoid sudden “flushes” of milk and an increase in its fat content.
6. Try not to pump too much. The first portion of milk that a child eats is less fatty than the second. Therefore, make sure that your baby finishes everything. Only after this can you apply it to the other breast.

If you want to increase the fat content of your breast milk, make sure you really need it. It is possible that the reason for the baby’s hunger and anxiety is something else. If you can’t figure it out on your own, you can seek help from a pediatrician.

The most valuable thing a woman can give a child in the first minutes of his life is breast milk. But what to do if there is no milk after childbirth?

On what day after birth do milk and colostrum appear?

So, a little physiology. The precursor to milk, colostrum, begins to be produced during pregnancy (you may notice a clear yellow liquid oozing from the nipples).

This substance is much more useful and nutritious than real, “mature” milk. The first drops of it that fall into the baby’s mouth are his first “food”.

Despite the fact that there is very little colostrum, the baby gets enough of it small quantity in order to “eat up”, because his ventricle is still so small!

But after a couple of days, the newborn’s appetite increases, and colostrum is no longer enough. Therefore, nature designed it in such a way that true milk begins to be produced in the breast. This usually happens after a couple of days.

But every woman’s body is individual, so this event can happen earlier or a little later (in the case of primiparous women or after)..

What to do to get milk after childbirth?

• Frequent application. While the milk has not yet arrived, let the baby suckle on colostrum. Constantly “hanging” the baby on the chest leads to increased production of the hormone prolactin, which regulates the amount of milk. Moreover, prolactin is most actively produced from 3 to 8 o’clock, so it is useful to increase lactation by feeding the baby at this time. That is why the constant presence of a child with his mother from the very first minutes of his life is now so welcomed;
• Based on the first point, refuse all “substitutes” female breast(pacifiers, pacifiers) and feeding the baby with formula (may be due to a lack of milk). The only thing that should enter the baby’s mouth now is the mother’s nipple;
• If you don't have milk after giving birth, what to do is more. The more liquid you drink (preferably warm), the more actively it will be “processed” into milk. And it doesn’t matter what it will be - tea, milk, compote - the main thing is that the drink is not allergic to the child;
• Skin contact. The close skin interaction between the baby and the new mother also contributes to the production of prolactin. In addition, this creates close contact between you and your little blood;
• In addition to prolactin, the hormone oxytocin is also responsible for milk production. It is produced in abundance only if a woman good mood, she is not overworked, in general, she is normal emotional condition. Therefore, to prevent milk from disappearing after childbirth, it is so important to provide the young mother with all possible assistance and give her the opportunity to sleep.

Special means for stimulating lactation

Why is there no milk after childbirth: perhaps your diet is inadequate or there are not enough substances for normal lactation? There are special products to eliminate this “gap”:

• Decoctions, drinks, teas. In pharmacies you can purchase herbal infusions or instant (soluble) drinks that stimulate lactation. Most often they contain seeds of fennel, dill, caraway seeds, etc. You don’t know what to choose? Ask your pharmacist to recommend lactogenic tea. If you don't have milk after giving birth, these products can be your salvation. You can learn how to prepare this or that decoction or infusion, as well as the method of use, from the annotation for each drug;
• Dietary supplements that stimulate lactation. The most popular are Apilak (it contains waste products of bees), Lactogon (it contains an extract of spicy plants);
• Vitamin-mineral complex preparations, multivitamins for pregnant and lactating women. For example - “Vitrum Prenatal”, “Centrum”, “Complivit Mama”, “Gendevit”, etc.;
• Milk formulas (dry) and their soy substitutes (the latter for mothers and children with intolerance to cow's milk protein) to stimulate lactation. They are enriched with fatty acids, vitamins, proteins and other useful substances. For example, “Olympic”, “Femilak”, “Dumil Mama Plus”, “Milky Way”, etc.

When choosing any of the described drugs or remedies, do not forget to familiarize yourself with the contraindications and their possible side effects. Perhaps some of the components are not suitable for you or your child.

How long it takes for milk to appear after childbirth depends not only on nature and heredity, but also on the new mother herself. If you want to breastfeed your baby, try to do everything in your power to establish breastfeeding.